ABC’s ‘Relative’ embraced

Alphabet laffer wins slot, 'King' hot after move

HOLLYWOOD — ABC has launched another comedy to solid sampling as Wednesday’s “It’s All Relative” clicked with auds, but its drama woes also continued with a soft bow for the critically hailed “Karen Sisco.”

The second Wednesday of the new season also saw CBS comedy “King of Queens” open very impressively on its new night, while Fox scored with the season finale of “Paradise Hotel” and now turns most of its sked over to postseason baseball for the next three weeks.

Overall, according to Nielsen, the Peacock prevailed in adults 18-49 (4.9/13) behind winning scores from both a healthy-looking “West Wing” and “Law & Order.” It also led in total viewers.

Top performer

ABC laffer “It’s All Relative” opened to sturdy first-place finishes at 8:30 in adults 18-49 (4.4/12) and total viewers (10.80 million), retaining 96% of its demo lead-in from “My Wife and Kids” (4.6/14 in 18-49, 11.65m) and building slightly in some male demos.

News wasn’t as good for new U.S. marshal drama “Karen Sisco,” whose 3.3/9 in adults 18-49 (9.13m) put it on par with last season’s short-lived “MDs” premiere in the slot. “Sisco,” which received some of the best reviews for any new skein this season, also saw its rating decline in the second half-hour — but it did hold up pretty well with men.

At CBS, “King of Queens” bolted out of the starting gate with a second-place 4.8/12 in adults 18-49 and 13.65 million viewers overall, matching its Monday preem last season and up 23% over the net’s perf with “Amazing Race” in the slot a year ago. Laffer is key for CBS as it looks for a comedy beachhead outside of Monday.

Following “King,” new drama “The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.” was down a tick in 18-49 from its preem (2.3/6 in 18-49, 7.16m) and remained a distant third — lagging both “Karen Sisco” and the top show of the night, NBC’s “Law & Order” (6.4/18 in 18-49, 17.50m).

Peacock also got another healthy perf from “The West Wing” (first-place 5.5/13, 16.33m), which was up a tick from its second episode last season. “Ed” tied for third at 8 (3.0/9 in 18-49), down about 25% from a strong season premiere.

‘Hotel’ checks out

Fox’s “Paradise Hotel” (third-place 4.1/11 in 18-49) checked in with some solid numbers for its final two hours, peaking with a 4.9/12 at 9:30 and dominating in adults 18-34 (6.0/16). “Paradise” made things tougher for ABC’s “The Bachelor” (4.8/11 in 18-49, 10.13m), which tied with “King of Queens” for second in 18-49 but was down from its strong season bow.

At the netlets, the WB’s “Smallville” moved to a new night and time (8 p.m.) with solid but unspectacular numbers, as its 3.8/12 in 18-34 tied for second in the hour but was down 27% from its Tuesday-at-9 bow of last season (5.2/14). And “Angel,” which moved to the night in January, retained a solid 84% of its lead-in, posting its best score in the demo (3.2/9) since November 2000.

UPN’s third-year “Star Trek: Enterprise” continued its steady build this season after a weak start, hitting a fall high in 18-34 (1.7/5). Lead-out “Jake 2.0” remained well behind the pack at 9 but was up vs. last week in 18-34 (1.0/3).